avalonjoyous Just saw this today I dvred it on TCM and now I wish I hadn't.This has got to be one of the worst,boring,incoherent,hilariously bad movies I've seen in years this one was a doozy for real.It's essentially about some weird mans dog and the weird mans part are hilariously bad and his part goes absolutely nowhere .The dogs owner the weird man I spoke of is staked by a detective near the middle of the movie which made his already bad part even worse .The effects are laughable and the acting was alright but nothing to write home about .Oh and the twist ending was adorable not the least bit scary no part of this entire movie was SCARY only boring,comical,and stupid .I can't believe I wasted my time with this one but if you like movies where a weird man stares menacingly over and over again ,communicates with his dog telepathically , and dogs eyes glow in a hilariously bad way then by all means check this COMEDY out and see for yourself just how bad it actually is.

Scott LeBrun The Russian Army (who don't have Russian accents in this movie, by the way) are busy blasting, and they unearth the crypt of the Dracula family line. Also among those bones entombed are those of Veidt Schmidt (Reggie Nalder), the Counts' ghoulish slave, and Veidts' faithful canine companion, Zoltan. The bodies of Veidt and Zoltan are resurrected, and they travel to America in search of the Counts' last living descendant. That turns out to be family man Michael Drake (Michael Pataki), who's gone on a camping trip with his wife (Jan Shutan) and two kids (Libby Chase, John Levin). Drake will receive assistance from an intrepid Van Helsing type named Inspector Branco (Jose Ferrer), who tails the villain and his dog to L.A. Before too long, Zoltan has sunk his teeth into the necks of a few of the canines in the lake area, creating a pack of vampire dogs.Admittedly, this is a fairly novel twist which the filmmakers exploit for all that it's worth. (Although there was also a vampire dog in the 1940s horror picture "The Face of Marble".) "Dracula's Dog" is low rent, to be sure, with less than stellar acting. Ferrer is just picking up a paycheck, Pataki really isn't cut out for family man type roles, and Nalder is required to basically stand around, most of the time. He either smiles for the camera repeatedly with that uniquely unhandsome face of his, or communicates telepathically with Zoltan. Also appearing are two other character actors with great faces, Simmy Bow and JoJo D'Amore, as fishermen in the area, and the sexy Arlene Martel as Russian Major Hessel. It's the dogs that come off the best, unsurprisingly.This viewer did enjoy the decent electronic music score by Andrew Belling and the cinematography by Bruce Logan. There is also some wonderful gore devised by Stan Winston. Directed by Albert Band ("I Bury the Living"), this movie does get one thing right: the animal attack sequences, supervised by old pros Karl Lewis Miller and Lou Schumacher. These, at least, are done with skill, accompanied by rapid fire editing by Harry Keramidas. One moment has Pataki in a car besieged by killer canines, prefiguring the story "Cujo" by a few years. (See also "The Pack", made around this time.)Minor league fare, but it may work for dedicated fans of animal attack horror. The final minute or so is both cute and sad at the same time.Dog and puppy lovers may find some moments to be hard to take.Six out of 10.

Nigel P Being a dog owner is not the first thing you would associate with Count Dracula. Indeed, it would be tempting to imagine this film to be a parody. But not only does it take itself seriously, it makes a convincing case for a vampire/canine partnership.Beginning during excavations of a Romanian crypt, Russian soldiers uncover a tomb containing coffins belonging to Dracula's family. A soldier unknowingly removes the stake (why do people in films do that?) from one corpse and Zoltan leaps out from under the wrappings. Soon, we are treated to a flashback in which the dog is bitten by Dracula in bat form that causes the creature's vampirism, and against the odds, the resultant scenes are very successful – real bats are used, which helps to convince.Zoltan, his eyes glowing eerie yellow, kills the soldier and retrieves Veidt Smith (Reggie Nalder, who also plays the vampire Barlow in 'Salem's Lot' a year later), former innkeeper, now vampire slave. Nalder plays Smith very well, an echo effect applied to his voice, which gives him an ethereal effect. Before Dracula himself can be revived, further blasting necessitates the escape of man and dog. As Smith states, 'Now Zoltan, we must find our new master …' This he does, and locates the family of Michael Drake, last descendant of The Count (despite having two children); Nalder is then reduced to staring moodily ahead and saying 'Soon, Zoltan, soon …' without much else, other than looking haunted, which he does with great effect. Drake sees Dracula in old family photos, which shows a surprising lapse in vampire lore.So spectral are Nalder and the hound, they often overshadow other cast-members, including Jose Ferrer as Inspector Branco, a sub-Van Helsing type as well as Michael Pataki as Drake (as well as doubling for Dracula in brief scenes) and his family. The family are extremely appealing and escape the bratty interpretations juveniles can sometimes bring. The inclusion of their own dogs, especially the puppy, adds to their endearing qualities (the puppy's death is a genuinely sad moment – we are all effected by mistreated animals, aren't we?).Sometimes, requiring animals to 'act' can result in awkward-looking scenes. That only very occasionally happens here - and the creature playing Zoltan is a magnificent looking Doberman, especially with moonlight glinting off his sleek fur. The various dog attacks are pretty well staged, especially when Drake recognises his own vampirised dog among their number.'Zoltan, Hound of Dracula' doesn't garner massively positive reviews. This may be due to its low budget, or viewers unable to take seriously the central premise. And yet I found it enjoyable and sincere in a way many bigger productions are not.Just as Andrew Belling's haunting, minimalist score runs into the credits, we are offered the probability that the story isn't quite over. And if your heart doesn't melt when you see the family's undead puppy with glowing moonlit eyes, then chances are, you have no soul.'There's More To The Legend Than Meets ... The Throat!'

DreddMancunian I actually love this film. I saw it in the late 70s as a kid and it scared the heck out of me. Nowadays it isn't scary. However there are some nice effective moments where Zoltan watches the sleeping humans. But come on guys... for sheer inventiveness this film deserves a better rating! Features the great Jose Ferrer in his silliest role, vampire dogs, a great pre-Salem's Lot Reggie Nalder as the baddie, and a preposterous plot about Dracula's descendants. But... the set pieces are really very good. Some unforgettable moments of suspense, great music, and who can forget those glowing dog eyes? Not quite a cult classic, but certainly worth watching. Unintentionally funny? Yes. But this is film with its heart in the right place... held there firmly by a wooden stake!